Cañón del Sumidero

Location

The canyon may be visited both from up and down. An the top there are perfect viewpoints, an the bottom there is an exciting trip with very fast motorboat. To take that water trip, go to the town called Chiapa de Corzo. It is very close to the state capital - Tuxtla Gutiérrez, about 70 km from San Cristóbal.

The monkeys on the tree

The motorboat trip

At the Grijalva river there are companies that offer the motorboat trip to the end of the canyon and back. The motorboats can take 20 - 30 people. They are very fast. Everything that is not holded will fly away, for example a hat. I recommend to take glasses, because the wind made by the speed will not let you to see anything. At interesting places the guide slows down or stops completely. Then he waits patiently until everyone take the photo.

A little chapel inside of the rock

Attractions in the canyon

The canyon itself is an incredible attraction. Its length is 14 km. The rock walls on both sides may are up to 1 km high from the water. At the end is a big lake Chicoasén with dam and hydroelectric plant. For tourists, shop-boats wait there. The prices are very high (three times higher than in the city), for example 0,6 liter cola costs 35 pesos. Beside this, in the canyon many wild animals can be met like crocodiles, vultures, monkeys, etc.

Crocodile lying in the sun

Vultures

Attractions in the town

The town itself isn't so interesting. The main attraction is a big place with some building made of bricks in Moorish style with a diamond shape. Of course, churches are also here. Other attractions have not been found.